Literacy Services Available

Broward Coalition Offers Outreach To Adult Students

September 21, 2003|By Jerry Libonati Staff Writer

A well-dressed woman walked into the office of Nancy Paull, executive director of the Literacy Coalition of Broward County. The woman displayed all of the accoutrements of success -- her hair was styled and she looked groomed, but when she spoke she looked down.

When Paull asked her why she had decided to find out about literacy classes, the woman began to cry.

"I'm just so depressed. I think about this every day. I can't read well enough to get a better job," Paull said, repeating the conversation. "I have two young children and I don't want this to happen to them, but I can't help them."

Paull said the story is not unusual. Illiterate men and women face obstacles every day that are considered simple for most people, such as being able to interpret street signs. They can feel like second-class citizens, afraid someone will find out or take advantage of them.

Taking that critical first step toward learning to read is not an overnight decision.

"People don't just wake up one day and say, `I think I'll learn to read.' It's something that builds," said Paull of Fort Lauderdale.

The Literacy Coalition of Broward County, situated in the county's Fort Lauderdale Branch Library, is what Paull called "kind of a weird animal" because it is an outreach agency that recruits students and tutors for literacy programs provided by other organizations such as the library. The county library system has one of the largest library-tutoring programs in the nation, with about 500 tutors.

One of those tutors is Narian S. Lavine, 89, of Lauderhill, who has been a volunteer with the library's Each One Teach One program since 1989. Formerly a high school guidance counselor in Long Island, N.Y., Lavine said, "Reading is the backbone of all knowledge. [Illiteracy] is the most terrible thing that could happen to a youngster."

Lavine, who volunteers at the Sunrise Dan Pearl Library, spoke of a tremendous change in people who have gone through the program. Sometimes they struggle through the first lessons, then suddenly they get it.

"I had one student, a lady who wanted to be a nurse's aide but she couldn't pass the exam and she couldn't read medication," Lavine said.

"She came to me, and we were about two years together. Then she came in one day and said, `I passed my test.' She was one of my joys."

But not everyone who embarks on the winding road toward reading proficiency is as successful. Lavine recalled another student who had gone through the Broward County school system and went on to college through his junior year but dropped out because he was unable to read.

"It was difficult for him because he wasn't able to get a good job. He went from job to job and from one girlfriend to another," Lavine said.

Many libraries, such as the Dan Pearl Branch, are equipped with private rooms, and participants can sign up at any location they choose.

Prospective students and tutors may call the Each One Teach One program from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays at 954-357-8211.

The library, however, is not the only agency offering literacy programs. Paull cited smaller organizations teaching people to read that are faith-based, community-based, minority-empowerment programs, the Urban League, a number of social service organizations and even individuals. Students may learn about all programs through the adult literacy hotline by dialing 211.

Tutors for all programs may call 954-522-6761.

Jerry Libonati can be reached at jlibonati@sun-sentinel.com or 954-572-2014.